Portugal's 1,050 MVA storage auction

Portugal's procedure to allocate grid injection capacity for storage was set for September 14 and was postponed by several weeks after the public consultation. The total is 1,050 MVA: 750 MVA for standalone batteries and 300 MVA for renewable centres with co-located storage, through an ascending-clock electronic auction run by OMIP with bids in euros per MVA.

Under the terms submitted for consultation, a standalone system must have power equal to 100% of the awarded capacity and a minimum duration of four hours. The Government of Portugal, in a statement dated August 31, 2026, opened consultation on the National Energy Storage Strategy, targeting 6.9 GW installed by 2030 and 9.76 GW by 2040.

The design concentrates risk on the developer: connection costs borne by the project and congestion-related injection limits of up to 750 equivalent hours per year. Each week of delay stretches the interval between capital tied up in development and first revenue.

The next milestone is publication of the final terms and the formal opening of the procedures. That text will show how much congestion risk stays with the investor.